Exercise & Fitness

Stay active and healthy and learn how to prevent injury while doing it. These articles address some common fitness guidelines and suggestions. An individual needs a certain level of fitness to be healthy, but they do not necessarily need to have a highly structured or disciplined fitness regime to achieve health. Implementing a fitness program into your lifestyle is important and there is much to learn here by clicking on the “Fitness” tab in the top toolbar.

This post is a video, one I recently posted on the Sock Doc site, but it’s as important to have here because a lot of people have knee pain and either live with it every day, take medication to deal with the pain, or resort to surgery when it’s unnecessary. So – check it out. It’s a bit long, (15 minutes), but the length is necessary to describe how the knee is affected by other areas of the body and how different areas of the knee can refer pain elsewhere. (more…)

I recently wrote a very long post, (over 14 pages), regarding training principles and philosophy for any person who wants to not only become more fit, but also improve their health. It’s divided into five parts and can be found right here at the Sock Doc site.

Just some of the topics covered are:

What exactly is “cardio” exercise?

How to build your aerobic system correctly and efficiently

HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training

Strength conditioning for endurance athletes- it’s a good thing if done correctly

Improving your health and fitness without sacrificing one or the other

This week’s post spans from teaching to training. A new article I’ve written is up on the MovNat site – Endurance Orientated MovNat Training – as well as an accompanying video. Click here. Why do I like MovNat so much? It’s a great addition to any and every workout routine to help develop overall conditioning, balance, strength, and well-being regardless of fitness level. Yes, it’s even great for endurance athletes, which is the main purpose of the post, as I receive many emails asking me how to make MovNat more aerobic/less anaerobic. Plus, MovNat incorporates true human movement patterns that goes far beyond developing fitness, as I discussed here in my first MovNat post. I’ll be working with the MovNat team next Summer 2012 at one of their West Virginia camps for a more endurance focused MovNat workshop week. More on that to come.

Last week I presented my gait evaluation, barefoot & minimalist shoe analysis, and some of my dysglycemia (blood sugar issues) therapies in Bordeaux, France, to over 100 doctors and students from the US, Canada, Europe, and Australia. I was all dressed-up but still ditched the shoes as you can see in the photo. My Powerpoint presentation can be found here (first in the list). If you’re not a physician or therapist you may still find it interesting, especially the first one-third which is about the benefits of barefoot and minimalist footwear. And even more information can be found here on the DRG site – a recent post on orthotics (yeah, I don’t like em’ too much) as well as proper/improper footwear.

Many people suffer from hip pain, back pain, piriformis syndrome, and what is thought to be “sciatic pain”, which is often not true sciatica, but another type of pain known as sclerotenogeous pain. Hip flexion problems are very common in runners and those who use their bodies to jump and kick. Extension-type pains are very common too and can cause pain when you sit, walk, and climb stairs. (more…)

“Itis” means inflammation usually as a result of trauma (such as a tendon strain) or infection. However inflammation can also occur from nutritional problems as well as local muscle and joint dysfunctions, and I’d say that this is much more common than actual trauma and infection. Think about how often a runner develops an injury to their foot or knee that suddenly creeps up on them and their physician diagnoses it as tendonitis. Or a tennis player or swimmer notices some shoulder pain that gets worse and worse and is eventually told they have bursitis. Read about why a person gets tendonitis or bursitis and how to treat and prevent these “itis” ailments naturally, here at Sock Doc.

Check out this incredible pictures my sister took of her daughter playing with some baby baboons at the Bronx Zoo. Isn’t she precious? She’ll remember this interaction for a very long time. This is how primatologists are born. In fact, this is how ANY interest is born – out of a deeply engaging and meaningful experience. (more…)

The pyramid is now a plate! Earlier this month the USDA came out with their new ChooseMyPlate image and dietary guidelines, replacing the Food Pyramid that had its own problems, as I discussed here. The plate took several years and $4 million to create – yet it resembles a TV dinner with its four compartments and is supposed to be easier for Americans to understand – because well, we eat off a plate and not off a pyramid. (more…)

Stretching is perhaps one of the most controversial fitness subjects of present day. Passionate debates arise between those who perceive the benefits of stretching and those, like me, who think stretching is one of the worst activities you can partake in, especially if you’re already injured. It’s a tradition that’s hard to break because so many of us have the stretching necessity ingrained in our heads as we’ve listened to coaches, trainers, professional athletes, researchers, and doctors throughout our fitness lives. Although research shows stretching has no value and may actually cause harm, people find it difficult to “Just Say ‘no’ to stretching.” Now, to clarify, I’m primarily talking about static stretching – that’s the “stretch and hold” type of stretching. Dynamic stretching is different as it promotes natural movements and range of motion that typically isn’t harmful if done properly. I’m all for moving natural and natural/normal range of motion of joints and muscles but I don’t think that we need to call this “stretching.” Read on to understand my madness… (more…)

My Other Site: Natural Injury Treatment & Prevention for Athletes

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DrGangemi.com is intended to help individuals become better informed consumers of health care. The information presented on this site gives general advice on health care and fitness aspects and is not intended to treat, diagnose, prescribe, or replace any health care visit. The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Stephen C. Gangemi, DC, unless otherwise noted. DrGangemi.com is intended to share knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Gangemi and his community. Dr. Gangemi encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research along with your qualified health care professional.